Cigarette case



NOV. 3, 1931. Q C, R|Tz WQLLER 1,830,583

C I GARETTE CAS E Filed Jan. 13, 1928 Hilillll! Inventor 5,3 @LAKY MW /tornqys Patented Nov. 3, 1931 emanano. .nnrsz wonnen, :F CHICAGO, ILLINoIs Y CIGARETTE .CASE

Applicatumled 'January 13,1928. Serial No."246,402.

VMlyinvention relates `to Cigarette eases itz has.'fortitszdbjectfthe yprovision of a :new Vand improved arrangement of parts lwhereby r an :attractive Vcase :is iprodfu'ced of l 'sufficient 1 strengthrtozafordthe yrotectionarequirediand still of very light Weight, .of 'such lConstruct-ion :as to enable )it to be held and opened readily by .the raction .of one hand, :so am'anged 'that thecigarettes :retained iin ztlie Ioriginal paekag'ehall :beilieldiin such position within :the ease as `to prevent @injury Pto thefcigarettes upon the iopening .and closing motions of lthe' lid-'or Cover .member To :these lends,`it is Aone oli ythe lobjectsof my in- A- vention to provide such an arrangement 'that the lid or cover in its opened position lshall not :interfiere with the insertion'ofthe package lof Cigarettes orl with lthe Withdrawal "of l one or :more-,cigarettes fromrthe package. It Z0 is eanother ob] ectof my invention ltofprov-lde -a :form about the upper Aend of :the package when in pesitionin -theacase upon whichfthe -pa-perfand foil of ythepackage can .be torn `for making" ,the cigarettes easily aeoessible. It.

"15 .is tanother :object r of .my linvention it'o provide an improved yarrangement of lsprings `for holding-the .package jin lpositionfin the case vand vfor\.l1'0ld-ingtheflidfor 'cover ireleasably in closed-position. .It -isstill anotherobjeet of si) ymy invention :to arrange @the `parts lin :such

manner Athat :there shall 'be substantial `reinforcement of the @part of the easing alpen .which the .hinge .ofthe ilid on cover Ais mounted, fsuch reinforcement being attained prei R5 rerabl-y .by .mounting the hinge in connection with oneof thesprings which bearon the package of cigarettes. v l

Iltis another object of'my invention :to improvedevices of this type in sundry details 'hereinafter pointed Cut. The preferred .meansby which Ifhave aecomplishedmy several objects'are illustrated.- in the dra-wings and are hereinafter specitiCall-yl described. 'What vdelaim .to .be new and desire tocover .'45 by Letters APatentlis set lerth/inthe Claims.

Fig. 1 is a "perspective View of my provedcase;

` LFig. E2 .is fsa side :face view fof the Case, with the lid or cover yin itszopene'd position and Q50 with :a fpa'ckagefof "Cigarettes in position in tlie-fcase'readyzfor use; l

Fig. `3 is -va'central vlvertical sent-ion through the fcase fas shown in 2,` being partly broken zaway; 55

Figure '4 4is l(i1-view similar to Fig. 3 but Ishowing a paokage of -fcigarettes in "position with Va portion 'of the wrapper torn away; and

fim-

, Fig. `5 is lars-idefaee'vie'w ofthe upper por- ,50 i

gtion'of-thecasevasfshown `in 2, lbut with the'lid or coverin Changed-.position and {partly'brokenlaway.

Referring to the several vfigures of lthe drawings 4in `which .corresponding pa'rts are 65 indicated by the :same referencecharacters, 10 indicates :an fopen 'ended casing lnrenfiber .formed of sheet metal .pressedinte shape the device of :the drawings being ,made of sheet aluminum; 1121 -indicates lidfor ,cover yrne1nber,also inthe-'construction shown made of .-'ajpiece of1sheet aluminum .pressed into the form of a `cap of :such fsize fas to Ihave a wer-kingiit Yu ponztlie upper end ofthe casing *member l10,:the cap Lorlidllrbeing hingedly 175 mounted in position upon the member l()V by the aneansliereinafter described.

VThe linea-ns ffor `holding a .package of 1 cigarettes yin position within the leasing v.member lOeCinpEiSeSJaleaf spring 12connected. atlits '80 upper Aend y.by .means of rivets 13 with the upper end of .thenasing member :at the Vrear thereof, such springllQ extendingin diagonal position .towardlthe lower-end ofthe casing, as .is-clearly shownuinFig. 3. .At lthe front -faee .of the casing member Vl0, I vhave provided 1asecon-d leaf spring lll- -whieh is Aconnectedat its slower end byA means ,of aerivet l l5 with. the casing member mear the lbottoni tliereoi,such.spring 14C extending upwardly v00 .shown in Fig. 4, the spring 12 serving to push the lower end of the package forwardly while the spring 14 serves to push the upper end of the package backwardly.

vThe means for mounting the lid or cover member 11 pivotally in` position upon the casing member 10 comprises a spring hinge 17 of any approved form mounted withinan Y onset pressed in the upper end of the rear face of the member 10, being secured to the cover member 11' by means of rivets 18, and being secured in position upon the casing member by the rivets 13 above referred to. The arrangement is such that the spring hingeserves normally to hold the lid 11 in its upright opened position as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, in which position complete .clearance is kprovided for the insertion of a package of cigarettes into the casing member 10. The arrangement lof the hinge and of the lid or cover memberwith respect to the casing 10 are such that the opening movement ofthe lid is stopped when the lid reaches the position as illustrated in said Fig. 3. In order to enable the cap form of lid to be hingedly mounted at a point below the upper end of the casing in themanner shown, and to enable thelid to beclosed without interference with the upper edge of the casing 10 at the front face thereof, the upper edges of the opposite sides of the casing are cut away along curved lines slanting' downwardly toward the front face, The curved upper end portions of the sides vof the casing serve normally as forms upon which the paper and foil of the package 16 can be torn for making the cigarettes 17 accessible, as is best shown in Figs. 2and 4.

The means for holding the lid 11 releasably in closed positioncompri'ses a latch 1 9 carried by the spring 1-4 at its upperend, the latch 19 in the construction shown" being formed integrally with the spring 14. At an intermediate point, the spring 14 is provided with a A pin 2O which extends outwardly through a suitable opening in the `front face of the casing member 10 for enabling the user to displace the spring 14 backwardly for releasing thelatch 19. l The front face portion of the cap or lid 11 is provided with an offset portion 21 pressed therein, as is best shown in Fig. 5,- adapted by Vengagement with the latch 19 to hold the lid releasably in closed position. By securing the Vhinge 17 both to the wall of the casing member 10 and also to the upper end of the spring 12, the construction is very strongly yreinforced with respect to the shocks to which the structure is subjected when the lid or cover 11 is permitted to open freely by the action of the spring hinge upon'the release of the latch 19. Since shown in Fig. 4, the upper ends of the ciga-V rettes are fully protected from damage by the lid or cover 11, the front edge of the cover being adapted to move past the cigarettes withample. clearance, as is clearly-shown in Fig. 5.

By the use of my construction as illustrated', I lhave'provided avery attractive, light,

device which has suiiicient strength for pro# tecting the cigarettes and which at the same time is not bulky or awkward to handle. The device can be opened quickly and easily by the actionof the hand by whichthe casing is held, and can very readily beclosed againV by the action of the one hand. In the device as shown, the aluminum casing is nickel plated and may be ornamentedwith any appropriate design as may be desired.

While I prefer to employ the construction as illustrated inthe drawings, it will be understood that I do not desire to limit the invention withrespect to the details of construction except so far as the claims may be limited by the prior art, since it will be understood that changes might well be made in some respects without departing from the spirity of my invention.v e*

I claim Y i 1. A cigarette case, comprising in combination an open ended casing member of a size `for receiving a package lof cigarettes, means for holding'a package of cigarettes tipped backwardly slightly in said A'casing member, and a cover member hingedly mounted on saidcasing member for closing the upper end thereof about said package.'

v2. 'A cigarette case, comprising in combination `an open ended casing member of a size for receiving a package'of cigarettes, a leaf Vspring secured at its upper end at therear of the casing member and extending downwardlyin diagonal position for holding the lower endl of the package pressedjyieldingly forward, means at the front of the casing for holding the vupper end of the package pressed yieldingly backward,` anda cover member hingedly mounted on said'casing member Lfor closing lthe upper end thereof about e said package. Y 1 3. 'Alcigarettecasm comprising in combination an open ended casing member of a size for receiving a package of cigarettes, a'leaf spring secured at its upper end at the rear of the casing member and extending downwardly in diagonal position for holding the lower end of the package pressed yieldingly forward, a second leaf spring secured at its lower end at the front of the casing member and extending upwardly in diagonal pstion for holding the upper end of the package pressed yieldingly backward, a cover member for vclosing the upper end of the casing member about said package, a spring hinge for connecting said cover member movably in position and having vone leaf connected with the casing member by fastening means lo passing through the wall of the casing member and also through the upper end of the first named spring, and latch means held yieldingly in operative position by said second spring for holding the cover member releasably in closed position.

OLIVER C. RITZ WOLLER. 

